Chapter 7: Shadow Into Light

Silver's POV

Silver Lookingglass was a detective in the Ponyville Police Force. But this morning she was reading about the violent death of Twilight Sparkle and her dragon friend, Spike. But the top detectives on the force were already looking into it. They never believed in her. She was a good detective, but they never gave her a chance. She really wanted to investigate this one. THe killer was a total freak, and needed to be put behind bars. She released her magical hold on the newspaper and it dropped onto the table. She finished her coffee and slammed it down in determination. She left for work.

Silver arrived at Twilight's house. There was police tape everywhere. She lifted it with her magic and entered the scene. She walked into the open doorway as she saw ponies photographing the scene. It was horrific. Spike was hanging from the railing with his eyes gouged out and his intestines hanging from his sliced open stomach. Twilight's eyes were gouged out similarly and she had been cut in half at the waist. Then she saw him. D.E. Tector. Her rival. He was pretty hot, but also a total jerk. She hated him so much. "Yup, definitely removed by magic." He said, staring at the corpse's empty eye sockets. "I'll add it to the report, sir." One of the analysts said. He turned around and spotted her.

"What are you doing here, Lookingglass? This is my scene." He said. "I want this case. It was totally unfair that they gave it to you." She responded. "I honestly do not care. Get out of here." He turned around and returned to checking for evidence. He used his wings to fly up to the second floor. "All the books are destroyed." He noted. Silver was furious. How could he be such a jerk? This case was hers! "Tector! Get down here!" She shouted. He leaned over the railing and smirked. "You're still here? I feel like I told you this already, but get out." He turned away. She was fuming with rage. Then she shouted.

"TECTOR, YOU ASSHOLE! THIS IS MY CASE!" Her yell echoed throughout the library, and he finally flew down and faced her. He got very close. "Listen here, Silver. You're probably the worst detective the PPF has. I don't even know how you got your job here. You are not taking this case, and you are not interrupting this investigation. If you don't leave right now, I'll have you reported and fired. You hear me?!" He pushed her with his right hoof. "Get the hell out." He said, and flew back to the second floor. Tear stung at Silver's eyes and she ran from the library. She found an alleyway to cry in. He stole her case, and he insulted her. She felt so stupid for crying. There was no way he would get away with this. She'd do it on her own. The newspaper said that Twilight's funeral would happen in a week. She could get more info there.

Fluttershy's POV, days later

Fluttershy was tending to her garden as the sun set, when she noticed something on the rising moon. A black spot. It was in a familiar place. She walked inside and found the book she was looking for. The black spot. The sign of an ancient evil returning. Then there was a knock on the door. She opened it and a handsome alicorn stood there, silhouetted by the moonlight. "Um, what do you want, sir?" She asked, shyly. He grinned.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about Nightmare Moon, would you?" He asked.

Applejack's POV

Applejack came to Fluttershy's house. She needed some tips on what crops to plant this summer. She found the door wide open. Strange. She walked inside and saw the house was in disarray. She stepped into the kitchen, and there she saw Fluttershy, lying in a heap on the ground. With her eyes missing. She screamed, and then heard a noise from behind her. She turned and saw an amazingly handsome alicorn, with deep red eyes. He must have done this. But wait, maybe he just knew her? Someone could've snuck in and done this. He stared at the body in shock. "Who did this?!" He cried. "I don't know!" She responded, as he shut the door with his magic. "Come with me!" He said, and she followed him into the back room. He came close to her. "We need to get out of here. The police will think we did this." He said, quietly. "Wait, we can tell them the truth! Who even are you?" She asked. He turned away. "I was… Her friend…" He said. "That's not very convincing." Applejack was suspicious. She could be alone with a murderer. But then again, he was so… Beautiful…

"What will we do?" She asked, ignoring her own paranoia. "We'll run off together. I get a sense that you like the outdoors. I do too." He said. "Wait, running off together? We barely-" she stopped as she noticed the blood on his hoof. She screamed and ran. Was he chasing her? She couldn't tell. She ran back to the farm. She would get Big Mac to protect her, or call the police, or anything! She ran into the farmhouse, and looked out the window. He was making his way across the fields. "Big Mac! Help!" She cried, but before he answered, a magical orb smashed through the window and landed in the dining room. The last thing she saw was the flash of light engulfing the farmhouse.

Silver's POV

Silver arrived at Twilight's funeral. Everyone made their speeches, even Princess Celestia herself. Silver had snuck back to the crime scene last night and taken the library's inventory list. She had checked the evidence catalogue at the station and found that only one book wasn't accounted for: a book detailing Nightmare Moon's return. She walked up to the Princess, and spoke quite awkwardly. "Um… Your majesty, I was wondering if we could talk for a minute…" She said. Celestia turned. "Of course! What about?" She said, trying to smile, though it was evident that Twilight's death was affecting her. "Well, do you know if Twilight was researching, um… Nightmare Moon?" She asked. Celestia frowned. "I think she might have been. Why?" She replied. "Well, the only missing book from the library was one talking about Nightmare Moon's return." She said. Celestia gasped. "Oh no… Him…" She said, and looked disturbed.

"Who?" Silver asked. "His name was… Shadow. An alicorn. No one knew where he came from. 1000 years ago, he fell in love with my sister, but she turned evil, and I had to banish her. I never thought he could do something like this. I thought he left the country long ago." She said, looking away. "Well, thank you, I guess." Silver said, and began to leave. Celestia stopped her. "If you really want to get to the bottom of this, check out this address. It was purchased about 250 years ago, but it was under suspicious circumstances." She conjured a slip of paper and moved it into Silver's satchel. She turned and left as Silver thanked her. Now she had a lead!

An hour later she arrived at the old house. It was dilapidated. It seemed like it hadn't been renovated or cleaned in the past 100 years. She opened the gate with her magic and walked to the door. She used her magic to use the knocker. There was no answer. She decided to magically unlock the door and enter. The house was totally dark. She searched the entire place and found nothing. She finally entered the master bedroom. The bed had been recently slept in. The room was the only place that looked to be cleaned or really… Lived in. She checked around and found nothing but an old picture. It was a portrait, covered in cobwebs. It had been hidden under the bed. She cleaned off the cobwebs, and saw that it was a picture of a beautiful, regal alicorn. She gasped. Princess Luna? Nightmare Moon? This couldn't be a coincidence! This had to be the killer's house! Shadow's house… She looked out the window, and saw a huge explosion of magic. Her eyes widened in terror. She raced out of the house in the direction of the explosion.